


Miss Universe

by Vinushuka



Series: One year with Apocalyptica [34]
Category: Apocalyptica
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-03-12 16:52:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13551570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vinushuka/pseuds/Vinushuka
Summary: Perttu is extremely nervous about meeting Yusuke in person and unsure about his message to him. During their dinner and in the discussion after that the two men find the understanding and trust required to build a happy future for both of them. Johanna takes up the matter of wedding date and proposes coordination with Anna and Yusuke, who are planning to marry too. Do we see a double wedding next spring?Anna has to enter into a hospital for monitoring and rest just before Perttu is supposed to start Apocalyptica's North American tour. After discussions with Anna and Eicca, Perttu decides to continue as planned. When the band is on their way to Atlanta, Perttu gets a surprise phonecall from Anna: Lumi has been born. The band is planning to have a celebration after the Atlanta show but faith interferes once again. Mikko has a back injury and may not be able to play  in their coming shows.





	1. The talk with Yusuke

## The talk with Yusuke (1)

The pain of losing my daughter and her mother to another man was almost too much for me to bear. When I and Johanna had the house showing on the countryside on Sunday, the torment vanished for a while but returned later on even stronger. The future with Johanna in that house was a tempting prospect but I wasn’t ready to accept the fact that by selecting that future I would de facto lose my daughter.

      The pain haunted me all through the promotion trips to Hamburg and Sweden making me lose my sleep and concentration. The idea of meeting Yusuke in person next weekend was almost as scary as meeting my death. Johanna noticed my jitters and tried her best to cheer me up. She made me think about the house renovation plans and animals we were going to have on our farm. That helped for a while but then I happened to have a dream where my little girl was running towards a Japanese guy calling him dad. My defences crumbled and I was alone again with my agony.

      The Saturday morning before the dinner party was a blur in my mind. I remember going jogging with Franky and washing my hair after that but the rest of the day was just a chaotic jumble of thoughts and discarded plans for the discussion I was supposed to have that night with Yusuke. I had no idea what I wanted to say to him. “Shove off and leave my wife and daughter alone”, was all I could come up with. The problem with that line was that Anna wasn’t my wife and I had no right to meddle with her life.

      The reality hit me hard when I parked my car on Anna’s front yard and I saw her standing on the porch with Yusuke waiting for us. Franky tapped my shoulder to encourage me. “Take it easy and listen to what Yusuke has to say”, he advised me before we stepped out of the car. I knew exactly what Franky thought about this situation and that he meant well but I couldn’t help getting annoyed.

      Johanna had sat very quietly on the front seat beside me during our drive. Maybe she was as nervous as I was. “They look very happy together”, she suddenly whispered and nodded towards our hosts standing hand in hand. “Please let Anna have what she wants.”

“I will”, I promised although I wasn’t completely sure what it was that Anna wanted. I didn’t know what I wanted myself either.

      I didn’t expect Yusuke to take up the burning issue between us during our first handshake but he did. His comments about helping me with the upbringing of my daughter were like a punch in the gut. Of course I couldn’t start the discussion with him there and then but at least I knew now the direction of his thoughts. Just as I had thought, he was hoping to have a new family to replace the one he had lost. But did he really love Anna like I did?

       I must admit that my stereotypical image of Japanese men vanished very quickly when I saw Anna and Yusuke working together during the dinner. They clearly formed an efficient team and it looked like Yusuke respected Anna’s skills and opinions. He had obviously come to terms with the fact that Anna wasn’t and would never be a typical Japanese housewife.

     The dinner was delicious although I was too nervous to enjoy it properly. I wished we would finish it is as soon as possible so that we could start the unofficial part of the party and I could have my chat with Yusuke. I still wasn’t sure what my message to him would be but now I wanted to give Yusuke a chance to convince me that I could trust my loved one’s into his hands.

      “I can see that you are getting along with Anna very well”, I started the discussion after we had climbed to the upstairs guest room and sat down, I in the armchair and Yusuke on the side of the bed.

“Yes, she’s a strong and independent woman and I appreciate that. I’m not exactly a fan of traditional Japanese family model. I want to spend time with my wife and kids, participate in their everyday life. I’m not ready to sacrifice my life to my work. I understood that during the three years I spent in USA. I’ve got only this one life and I’m not going to waste it.”

“You seem to be very determined about your life goals. Are you planning to marry Anna?” I asked the one question that mattered to me.

“I haven’t asked for her hand yet but I will, when the time is right”, Yusuke replied without hesitation.

“And you don’t mind that she’s carrying my child?”

“No, I don’t mind. In fact I considered adopting a child before I met Anna… The genes are not important, love and affection are”, Yusuke replied. “Can I ask you one thing? ...Why don’t you marry her yourself?”

“Err…it is complicated. I wasn’t planning to have a child or get married when I met Anna. Everything just happened and I was afraid that it might disrupt my work. When Patrik made me question my fatherhood, I finally understood that I wanted to have this child. At that time I had already met Johanna and fallen in love with her. Anna assured me she could manage alone. She wanted me to have a wife closer to my own age. You know she’s too old to have any more children.”

“Yes, we have talked about that. If we want more children, we can always adopt. Two or three kids would be nice.”

“In that case, I’m not going to stand in your way. It sounds like you two have already made up your minds. But I would like to stay in contact with my daughter and I want her to have my surname. I have already agreed that with Anna. She will be Lumi Kivilaakso.”

“If that’s what you have agreed, it’s fine for me. And I won’t prevent you from seeing your daughter. But there’s a chance that we might move to Japan, at least for a while. I have there some unfinished business to take care of. You’re of course welcome to visit us there.

“Can I ask what kind of unfinished business we are talking about?”

“Sure. I still have my old house or what’s left of it and I would like to sell it. My youngest daughter hasn’t been found yet… probably never will… but there are formalities to take care of.”

“How old was she?”

“She was only little over one year. She could walk already…I’m sorry. I just can’t talk about it… ”, Yusuke whispered trying to hold back his tears.

      I knew he didn’t want to cry in front of me but he couldn’t help it. I stood up, went to sit beside him and folded my arm around his shoulder.  ”I wish I could take away your pain but I can’t. I just hope that you will have a bright future with Anna and Lumi…”

Those words lifted a heavy burden from my shoulders. I was doing the right thing here. Having two fathers wasn’t a bad thing for Lumi and Anna wouldn’t have to make it alone anymore.

“Thanks for your support”, Yusuke sobbed and smiled at me wiping the tears from his face. “But I think we should return downstairs now. I have a thing or two to attend to.”

“Yeah, sure”, I agreed and gave a brotherly tap at Yusuke’s back. I was sure that Johanna was keen to hear about the conclusion of our discussion and would be pleased with it.


	2. After the party

## After the party (2)

“I think Yusuke made a very relevant proposal”, Johanna remarked when we were driving home from the party with Franky.

“Do you mean us getting married first?” I asked to confirm that we were talking about the same thing.

“Yes, is there a problem with that?”

“Well…Yusuke is not familiar with our tight schedules. I don’t think it is a realistic idea to arrange the wedding this summer. We could have the wedding party at our own house early next summer when the renovation has been completed”, I proposed. For the first time I felt comfortable with talking about the house and our future in it. “By the way, Franky. I will need a best man”, I commented and grinned at Franky at the rear-view mirror.

“One best man at your service”, Franky promised but looked a bit thoughtful. “Anna and Yusuke may not be here next summer. Yusuke told me that his post in Finland will end in June. It would be nice to have Lumi at the wedding.”

“You’re right. If we aim at early June, which is the most beautiful time of the summer, they are still here and can participate.”

“That is the most likely the time of their wedding too. Maybe we should coordinate”, Johanna proposed out of the blue.

“Hmm, that is an interesting thought. Before speculating more, we should discuss our schedules with Anna and Yusuke. The best time for that would probably be after we have returned from our North America tour, after Lumi has been born. Anna has most likely too many things on her mind before that.”

“Sounds like we have plan”, Johanna smiled and caressed my cheek. Her enigmatic smile puzzled me but I didn’t want to ask about it when Franky was with us. Tomorrow would be a good time for that.

      After today’s party we would have luxurious four days of rest before heading back to USA where we would start our North American tour. The tour would begin at Rock on the Range festival 15th of May, continue to the northern parts of the country and from there to Canada at the beginning of June. After North America we were going to play at Download festival in UK and return to Finland a month later, 14th of June.

      Franky was flying back to USA tomorrow, on Sunday, to spend some time with his family. I too wanted to have some quality time with Franky before his departure so I had agreed with Johanna that I would drive her home tonight and pick her up on Sunday after I had seen Franky off to the airport.

      Anna was having her regular maternity check up on Tuesday so I would hear the latest news about her health condition before our departure. During the dinner party she had looked so radiant that it was difficult for me to imagine that there was something wrong with her. Anyways I was relieved that she had now Yusuke to take care of her.

      We all stood up from the car in front of Johanna’s apartment house so that Johanna could say her goodbyes to Franky. “Have a safe journey home”, she wished and gave a warm hug to Franky. “See you tomorrow then”, she whispered to me and gave a soft kiss on my cheek.

      Franky took the front seat after we had dropped Johanna off. “So, what do you think about Yusuke?” I asked when we were driving towards home.

“I think he’s a trustworthy guy…and very good-looking”, Franky grinned and gave me a sideways glance.

“Are you trying to make me jealous?” I teased Franky although I couldn’t help comparing my feeble self to Yusuke’s muscular and well-trimmed body. Franky and Yusuke were physically very similar including the tattoos. Franky had some rough edges in his personality and a slightly questionable past whereas Yusuke seemed to be clean as a whistle in all respects. That was almost too good to be true.

“I think it’s me who is jealous here. You have two wonderful women and Eicca. I will have to settle with fucking you at some shitty hotel rooms and tour busses”, Franky complained but I think I saw a smile tugging his lips.

“Tonight you can fuck me in my own bedroom. It can’t be that awful.”

“No, that sounds very nice”, Franky admitted and moved his hand onto my thigh. Suddenly the prospect of making love with Franky felt very tempting. I had been so nervous and uptight for most of the week that having sex hadn’t even occurred to me. Now that my ordeal was over I was more than ready to enjoy my sturdy partner in bed.

      Consequently we didn’t waste time in getting under the sheets when we were back in my apartment. Just a quick shower and a tooth wash and we were ready to spend our last night together.

“Has anybody told you that you are a very beautiful man?” Franky asked and traced my cheek with his finger. His dark eyes were gazing me at close distance and I could feel his warm breath on my skin.

“Hmm, you have…couple of times. I always feel flattered…I would like to have some muscles too, but I don’t have the energy to do anything about it.”

“Maybe you’re not the muscular type…I love you the way you are, your slender fingers and long hair. It’s very artistic”, Franky mumbled and pressed his lips on my forehead.

“Please kiss me”, I whispered wanting to feel the heavy weight of his body on me once again. Franky rolled himself on top of me and started to devour my face and lips with an intensity that wasn’t typical of him. “Wow, are you going to consume me altogether?” I breathed when he finally let go of me.

“Yeah, I’m the big bad wolf.” Franky murmured and bit my neck.

“Ouch”, I whined. ”You’re starting at the wrong end. The more delicious parts are down there…”

“Now that you mention it, there seems to be something very edible here”, Franky remarked folding his fingers around my eager dick.

      Franky’s attempts to devour my thing were so gorgeous that it didn’t take very long before I exploded into his mouth. After that it was Franky’s turn to enjoy my ass, which he did very thoroughly. His brutal energy always surprised me and made me feel wanted in a way that was hard to describe.

      The stress and excitement of the day had taken their toll on me and I started to drift into sleep quickly after curling into Franky’s arms. For a change my life seemed to be fine and in control. I really hoped it would stay that way.


	3. Miss Universe

## Miss Universe (3)

I was packing my things for a month’s tour when my phone buzzed on Wednesday evening 13th of May.

“Hi Perttu! How are your tour preparations going?” Anna asked sounding perky.

“Actually I’m just packing…How was your check up yesterday?”

“They wanted to make a more detailed investigation on me. I’m going to hospital tomorrow for that…”

“Did they say why?” I asked feeling worried.

“I guess they want to monitor my blood pressure for a while and keep me in rest”, Anna replied.

“Oh shit, why does it always have to go like this? Something comes up just when I have to go on tour”, I burst out my frustration.

“Please don’t worry! There’s nothing you can do here. Yusuke can help me if I need something. Just relax and start your tour as planned.”

“I know that but I just feel so bad about myself…I don’t want to neglect my responsibilities.”

“You have your job to take care of. We will be in good hands at the hospital. I will let you know as soon as I know anything more.”

      Anna’s news made me lose my concentration all together. I stared at the clothes scattered on the bed and my half empty suitcase without knowing what to do. Here I was running away from my responsibilities just when my life was at a turning point. I picked up my cell phone and selected Eicca’s number.

“Hi Perttu! Having trouble with selecting what to wear on tour?” Eicca joked when he picked up my call.

“Heh, selecting clothes is always difficult but that’s not why I’m calling. Anna has to go to hospital tomorrow for monitoring and rest.”

“Oh, sorry to hear that. What would you like to do?”

“I don’t know. That’s why I wanted to talk with you.”

“A friend of mine spent three weeks at a hospital in complete rest because she was having twins. These things may take some time.”

“It’s four weeks to Anna’s due date. I think it’s pretty obvious that Lumi will be born during our tour…”

“We can always cancel one or two gigs if you want to attend Lumi’s birth.”

“Anna promised to keep me informed about the situation. I guess we can proceed as planned until we know more…” I decided. I didn’t want to ruin our tour which was the main part of Shadowmaker promotion in North America.

“Okay. See you in the morning at the airport! And please pack enough pants with you.”

I wondered about Eicca’s last comment but then it occurred to me that maybe he didn’t want me to go shopping with Franky as we did in Dallas. Eicca was jealous of me!

\-----

      I kept regular contact with Anna during the first days of the tour. She called me or I called her but the message was always the same: nothing new, just blood pressure measurements and rest. She had asked Yusuke to bring her Lord of the Rings and Japanese textbooks to the hospital. Those together with the study apps in her phone would keep her busy for the time being. Yusuke was looking after her garden which, according to Anna, was a welcome task to him.

      When we were on our way to Atlanta 20th of May I had already lulled myself into a false tranquillity and the routine of performing at nights and travelling during the days. The buzz of my phone woke me up too early to my liking. I let it rang for a while but picked it up when it didn’t stop. Somebody was really determined to talk to me. My heart skipped a beat when I saw that the call was from Anna.

“Good morning and congratulations, Perttu Kivilaakso…You have a healthy daughter. She’s a ten point baby with Miss Universe qualities according to the midwife.”

“What! Really? Are you alright? Is Lumi alright?” I more or less shouted into the phone.

“Yes, we are both fine. She’s very small and beautiful.”

“When was she born?”

“This morning slightly after nine o’clock. The doctors decided to make a caesarean section to avoid any complications. The decision was made on Tuesday morning so I chose to spare you from the stress. You wouldn’t have made it here in time anyway…”

“Was Yusuke there with you?” I asked still completely stunned.

“Yes, he was. They thought that he was the father. I think the midwife had her doubts when Lumi didn’t look Japanese at all”, Anna laughed. “Yusuke sends his regards to you…He thinks Lumi has your nose.”

“Jeez, I don’t know what to say…I’m so happy that everything went smoothly after all.”

“I’m happy too…Yusuke has taken some photos of her and will send them to you soon. I think I will have to rest now. I’m still dazed after all this…Call you later…”

      I knew everyone else on the bus was still fast asleep but I didn’t care. I rushed first to Eicca’s bunk and then to Franky to tell the good news. Mikko and Paavo woke up in the racket I made and hurried to congratulate me.

“This calls for a celebration tonight”, Paavo mused winking his eye at Mikko.

“Yes, we will arrange you a party to remember”, Mikko promised and tapped my back.


	4. A night to remember

## A night to remember (4)

I can’t recall much about the rest of our ride to Atlanta. I just kept browsing through the photos Yusuke had sent me after Anna’s phone call. My daughter really was beautiful, tiny but beautiful. According to Yusuke’s message Lumi weighed only 2,8 kilos because she was four weeks premature but she wasn’t yellow and didn’t have any problems with her breathing. Hence she was awarded ten points at birth.

      I tried to figure out why Yusuke thought that she had my nose. Maybe the photos didn’t do justice to that part of her tiny face.

“Can I take a look at Lumi’s photos?” Mikko’s question woke me up from my reverie.

“Yeah, sure”, I promised and handed my cell phone to Mikko, who had sat down beside me.

“Hmm, I’ve seen some rather ugly new born babies but Lumi is pretty. Then again, why wouldn’t she be? You are beautiful and Anna too, good genes”, Mikko mumbled as he browsed the photos back and forth.

“The midwife had told Anna that Lumi might be the coming Miss Universe”, I laughed.

“You never know how the kids turn out. She has at least a good starting point with Anna, Yusuke and you. You don’t have to worry so much about her. It’s really troublesome to be so much away from home… ”, Mikko sighed sounding slightly downcast.

      I hadn’t talked with Mikko very much since he started to live together with Mikael. I had no idea how they were doing these days. Somehow I got the impression that Mikko wanted to confide in me.

“Is everything okay with you and Mikael?” I asked to encourage him.

“I’m not sure about that. A while ago Mikael started to talk about Patrik and the quarrels they had about adoption. I wasn’t sure what he was getting at so I just commented that we wouldn’t make very good parents. I was travelling most of the time and Mikael had irregular working hours. After that discussion he has more or less stayed away from me. I wanted to talk with him before I started the tour but he left somewhere and didn’t come back before my departure. I think he’s avoiding me. Do you happen to know if Patrik has anything to do with his absence?”

“Sorry but I have no idea. Anna hasn’t talked much about Patrik lately. The last thing I heard about him was that he had recovered from his gall bladder operation and was working again. Why don’t you call Mikael and ask if he’s upset about something you have said or done? It’s better to clear things up right away than to brew over them”, I advised Mikko even though I wasn’t very good at talking about things myself.

“Maybe I will! Thanks for listening“, Mikko said and stood up. He vanished into his bunk after that so I naturally assumed he wanted to have some privacy to make the call. The time was approaching two o’clock in the afternoon and we would soon reach our venue in Atlanta.

      We climbed out the buss in front of venue called Masquerade with stiff legs and headed to check up the facilities. Our crew started to carry our equipment in and do the set up once we had cleared all formalities with the venue staff. It was already late in the afternoon when we had done the set up and completed the sound check. We had just enough time to grab something to eat and after that to pump up the energy for the show starting at nine o’clock in the evening.

      The show at Masquerade was really hot and energetic. I forgot all my worries and felt light as a feather now that I knew that my loved ones were safe and okay. I did much too much head banging with Eicca and the crowd went crazy with us. Mikko did an excellent job in riling up the crowd with Riot Lights and Franky with House of Chains. Stiff neck was a small price to pay for this extraordinary night.

      We were completely exhausted after the show and therefore took our time to shower and rest at the backstage facilities. Our buss call was at 12:30 by which time our crew should have packed our equipment back into the buss and we should be ready to board and continue our tour.

“That was one hell of a show!” I huffed to Mikko who was lying on the sofa looking half unconscious. “Did you get hold of Mikael?”

“No, not yet. I will try again later on. It’s now six o’clock in the morning in Finland”, Mikko mumbled and started to get up from the sofa.

      Mikko was already on his feet when he suddenly grabbed his back and grimaced of pain. “Holy shit, my back is killing me and it hurts like hell to move my arm”, Mikko complained looking pale and a bit wobbly.

I jumped up from my chair and grabbed him to make sure he wouldn’t fall and hurt himself more. “Did you hurt your back while playing or right now?” I asked feeling the panic taking me over.

“I felt some pain in my arm during the show but I thought it would pass if I rest. It didn’t.”

“Can you make it to the bus?” I asked just when Paavo and Eicca returned from the showers.

“Just help me to my bunk. I’m sure painkillers and rest will help”, Mikko mumbled trying to ignore his pain.

\-----

“I’m sorry! I didn’t have this in mind when we talked about celebrating tonight”, Mikko muttered laying on his bunk waiting for the painkillers to kick in. Paavo and Eicca had managed to get him into the bus and on his bunk although it was difficult. Mikko couldn’t straighten his back or use his hand to support himself so two strong men were needed to help him on his bed.

“We will arrange you a party later on when Mikko is okay”, Paavo promised and gave a worried look at Mikko. Our next performance would be in two days at Rocklahoma festival. Before that we had a fourteen hour bus ride ahead of us. Paavo wasn’t sure that Mikko would be able to play there and neither was I.

      Actually I was happy that the celebration was postponed. I was too tired and needed time to think over the matter that I now had a daughter. I already had a million questions about the childbirth and I would come back to those first thing in the morning with Anna. Now it was time for some well-earned rest.


End file.
